The use of wallboards to finish off the enclosures of a building has long been recognized as the most expedient manner of erecting the final walls of enclosures, regardless of the ultimate finish, such as wallpaper or paint. Generations ago, a building construction was not considered truly permanent unless its walls were of plaster. Such construction required considerably more skill than that readily available today. Additionally, substantially more time and expense would be called for to provide plastered walls as initially, an accurately installed lath must be provided before plasterers apply successive green and finish coats of plaster.
Today, most residential and commercial construction calls for at least interior walls which are of pre-manufactured wallboard such as, gypsum board or plaster board and which are rapidly erected by merely driving suitable fasteners through abutting edges of the boards and into wood studs or metal channels or posts underlying the joints between adjacent wallboards. Since the sole attachment of such wallboards is by means of the driven fasteners, such fasteners must be applied at very close intervals, not only adjacent each abutting side edge but also, along the top and bottom edges of the wallboards. Each joint between abutting wallboards is then covered with tape and a plaster compound which is thereafter smoothed or sanded prior to the application of paint or other wall covering. Since most wallboards lack any interlocking feature in the area of their abutment, any deformation of the underlying mounting surfaces of the posts or studs will be transmitted as uneven or non-planar outer surfaces on the fastened wallboards, thereby calling for excessive patching plaster in an effort to disguise such irregularities.
Thus, it is desirable that a wall assembly permit of rapid erection, with minimum labor and tools and fasteners, while insuring of a positive, rigid interlock between two sides of mating, co-planar wallboards and intermediate metal posts or studs. Such an assembly should exhibit a high fire rating with the cooperating posts discouraging the conduction of heat from the wallboards on one side of the posts to those wallboards on the other side thereof. Additionally, it is preferable that the posts include means to positively retain insulation batts installed within walls according to this invention, with these same means also serving to positively guide and support adjacent wallboards during their assembly and further serving to retain an assembly of stacked posts of similar configuration.